Long Teenage Goodbye
by jenson40
Summary: Life is difficult, and no one knows that better than Addison. After being forced to move back to Seabrook, she hopes that things will go smoothly. That is until the past comes back in the form of 20 year reunion and Zed Necrodopolous. Life was already throwing every curve at Addison, but this is a whole new ballgame. Zeddison. Future fic.


**AN: Hello beautiful people! SO I have written many a story for Gilmore girls and Girls meets world, but this is my first Zombies story. I feel like there are not enough of these, and I have had this idea swirling around in my head for quite some time. I thought I knew where I was going with this, but I didn't and it ended up writing itself. IDK for sure how long it will take or when I'll write the next chapter as writer's block is a bitch and getting this chapter out was incredibly difficult but totally worth it! Hopefully, I'll write when summer comes and I have finished my first year of college. We'll see. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this, and I think it will be going places. Please review as I would love that because those do keep me going! Have a great week new readers!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The gym was incredibly gaudy. Looking back on it now, green and pink were terrible choices in color for a high school. It's like the founders of Seabrook High had let their five-year-old daughter choose the color scheme. Pink and green are cute on a small child, but it did not work on high schoolers and later nearly 40-year-olds. Not to mention all of those in attendance were in pastel pinks and blues which looked odd against the neon green and pink. Maybe it was just the fact that Addison had been away from Seabrook for so long that she had realized how ridiculous this planned community was.

Out in the real world, far beyond Seabrook's city limits, people wore whatever colors they wanted. People didn't live in houses that were identical inside and out—ok, so an argument could be made for suburbs and Pulte neighborhoods, but those weren't indistinguishable from each other. In the real world, people were still just as judge-y as those in Seabrook, but it wasn't the same. Out in the real world, Addison wasn't as nervous to be who she was. Out in the real world, she didn't need to keep anything hidden.

So, what in the hell made her move back to this godforsaken town? And just in time for her 20 year reunion that her cousin—who hadn't even graduated in the same year, mind you—was dragging her to.

It wasn't until she saw the many dark green heads bobbing to the music that she remembered why. Because despite the horrible prejudices that had run rampant during her childhood, Seabrook was the most accepting of zombies in the entire country. No matter how many times she had moved, uprooted her life, Addison was not able to find a place as accepting as Seabrook. It was honestly shocking.

It wasn't any picnic, but zombies had it better in Seabrook than in the Midwest, or California, or the South. It was just common knowledge that Seabrook, Massachusetts was the best place to be a zombie. It only took 24 years.

Addison remained as far away from the crowd as possible. She had made many great friends in high school, but she was not in any mood to catch up. She did not want to have the attention placed on her, which was a little hard considering the stark white hair in the crowd of green and brown and blond. She stuck out like a sore thumb, and the fact that anyone had yet to approach her was a miracle in itself.

She noticed Bucky attempting to make eye contact with her from across the gym. He stood in the middle of a group of people whom she didn't recognize or didn't care to figure out who they were. He excused himself from the group, making his way to her. That was until he was stopped by a green headed woman with curls in a ponytail. Her clothes were stylish yet refined, as they should be for the mayor. The woman gave Bucky a quick peck on the lips, and his signature smile returned. He nodded in Addison's direction, and the woman's head whipped around to look at whom he was referring to. The smile the green haired woman had been wearing faltered the slightest bit when she looked at the white-haired woman standing on the opposite side of the gym. Addison held up a hand to wave, but it didn't matter.

The woman said a few things to Bucky to which he nodded before continuing towards Addison. Addison rolled her eyes and brought her glass of chardonnay to her lips. Her glare became darker with each step Bucky took toward her.

"This was a bad idea!" she said as soon as he was in earshot.

"Oh c'mon, cuz! It's not that bad. What happened the optimistic Addy? The reason that your reunion even has zombies in the first place?" Bucky used a hint of the voice he reserved for small children and babies, and Addison groaned at the sound of it.

"She went out into the real world. In the real world, you can't change things by cheering." She placed the glass back onto the table. "You saw the way that Eliza looked at me, the way that everyone in this gym is looking at me!"

"That's because you aren't talking to anyone but me. You were voted prom queen, and now you're sitting in a dark corner glaring at anyone who comes near you." Bucky gestured to the gym, and Addison cowered at the looks it got. She grabbed his arm, shushing him.

She grabbed her clutch purse and downed the rest of the wine. "Look, Bucky, I know that you had good intentions, but this isn't who I am anymore. I'm not the perfect princess dating the captain of the football team and integrating the town at the same time. Life chewed me up and spit me out, and this reunion only goes to prove it." She pushed passed him, the door in sight. "I… I'm just gonna go, it's better this way. Tell Eliza congrats on winning the election; she deserved it more than anyone. I'll, uh, I'll see you back at the house."

Addison made it through the double doors and into the hallway. There were less people out here, but standing in the middle of the hall was Bree. Addison could not handle with the woman who used to be her best friend at this moment. There would be questions, so many questions: why are you leaving? Where have you been the past 20 years? Did you get my wedding invitation? Why didn't you keep in touch? The list was endless. She would want answers, answers that Addison was not ready to give. The only person who knew was Bucky, and he had tried to tell Eliza, who had refused to listen in her anger.

Before Bree could catch a glimpse of Addison, she turned down a hallway in her attempts to find an exit. Addison heard the shrill call of her ex-best friend, and she knew that there was no way she would be able to escape in time. She turned another corner, pushing through a steel door, praying this would get Bree off her trail. When the door shut behind her with a solid _thunk_, Addison swore she had been transported back in time.

It made no sense as to why the school had kept the zombie safe rooms. Everyone knew that zombies were harmless; the last potential attack had been at the homecoming game her freshman year. She thought that these would be done away with the moment Eliza was sworn in. Maybe it was a testament to the prejudices of times past, and proof that it was no longer a problem. Or maybe, and this was the most likely reason, judging by the dust on each surface, they had simply been forgotten about.

Well, Addison thought they had been forgotten about. But she heard something scurrying around, and it sounded too big to be a rodent. Unless it was an ROUS, but Addison knew they didn't exist. She had had to explain that one too many times throughout the years.

"Hello?" she called into the, what should have been, empty room. At the sound of her voice, the person—Addison was sure it was a person—bumped into a stack of boxes full of outdated supplies. "Hey, this is a closed reunion, invite only. So, beat it, kid." The only explanation for someone being in the zombie safe room on a night such as this was a few kids trying to sneak around. Lord knows she had been caught in this exact room multiple times.

The person said nothing; their feet shuffled a bit as they contemplated coming into the light. Addison huffed and stomped her foot.

"If you don't get out of here or show your face, I'm calling security!" she yelled into the darkness, hoping that would scare the kid. They moved closer, and Addison visibly tensed as the person's frame was made more visible. They were much bigger than she was, and zombie safe rooms were known for being soundproof to keep the zombies from hearing the humans inside. If this person tried to pull anything, it was likely that she wouldn't be found.

The tall person continued towards her, and Addison's muscles clenched with every step. The person had yet to speak, but that didn't calm her one bit. It was always the quiet ones you needed to look out for, right? The person took another step, an Addison pulled her fist back ready to send the potential assaulter into next week.

"State your name and your business here. I won't hesitate to call the police. My-my cousin's dating the mayor; I have friends in high places," she rambled on, hoping that it would strike the same fear that she was feeling in the person approaching her. The person, still shielded by the dark, chuckled at the very obvious tremor in her voice. Addison did a double take. That laugh… she knew that laugh.

"Hi, Addy," the person now stood directly in front of her, and Addison swore that she saw a ghost. A ghost of times gone by; a ghost of painful memories; a ghost of passionate love; a ghost of heartbreak; a ghost of the very life she had left behind in Seabrook.

"I have to go," she said, turning on her heel. Behind her, Zed Necrodopolous stood speechless as he watched his one true love walk out the door for the second time in his life.

XXX

Addison rushed out the door of the zombie safe room, tears streaming down her face. It had taken a lot for her to make the decision to come back to Seabrook, and the one thing that she thought she could count on could no longer be counted on. She had been informed by Bucky that Zed had left. He had gone out into the world after the shit had hit the fan, and he was avoiding Seabrook like she was. She had even been informed that he had not RSVP'd to the reunion, which had been the only reason she had even decided to show up in the first place.

It was all happening very quickly. She had been transferred as soon as possible, so soon that she hadn't had time to buy a house in Seabrook. She was currently crashing in one of the extra rooms in Bucky's house that Bucky's son did not occupy. She had yet to even find a realtor, that's how fast her company had moved to get her out of the town she had been in before. Her company knew as well as she did that other areas of the country did not approve of zombies the way that Seabrook did, and that had been what ensured her speedy transfer.

Now, she had seen the one person on the entire planet that she did not want to see again. Things had not ended well between the high school sweethearts. Living together and going to college was not an easy feat. In the beginning, it was all bliss. But it was not as they had expected, and soon, fights broke out. They never lasted long, and both were quick to come to the other apologizing for what had been said. They still loved each other through it all.

Until one day, everything had changed. Zed still had no idea what had sent Addison spiraling. He came home one night to his girlfriend packing her bags. Addison was mumbling about not being able to do it anymore. She had said that things were different now, and this life of being a constant guinea pig for the world was too much. She said that she had other things to think about, that she didn't want this life. The life of the spotlight. Zed begged her not to go. Looking back on it, leaving was the stupidest mistake she had ever made. But Addison was nothing if not stubborn. It had been done, and she thought she would never have to see him again.

Suffice to say, she had been wrong before; and apparently, she wasn't going to stop being wrong at 38 years of age. It did boost her pride knowing that Bucky had been wrong too. She had been right about the night being a total disaster.

Now in the hallway, Addison could see that she had lost Bree a long time ago. She walked as quickly as she could in her heels to her car. She got into the driver's side, switching through the radio stations as the car warmed up. The night had grown chilly, and she had left her windows down a bit to keep the air from getting too stuffy inside.

Suddenly, there was a tapping at her window, and Addison jumped and yelped. Zed stood outside her car, motioning for her to roll down the window. She shook her head, shifting the car into drive. Zed quickly jumped in front of the vehicle, knowing full well that she would not hesitate to run him over. Basked in the bright headlights, Addison could make out Zed's lips forming the word 'please' over and over again. She acquiesced, cutting the engine.

Zed hopped out from the front of the car, and grabbed for the handle to the passenger side door. Addison was faster though, and she locked all the doors before he had the chance to open it. Zed looked at her with pleading eyes, and Addison couldn't help but feel guilty for what had happened all those years ago. She decidedly placed her finger back on the button, unlocking the door for a split second. Before she could lock it again, Zed had nimbly opened the door, sliding into the passenger seat.

"Can we talk?" he asked with such desperation that Addison felt a few more tears come to her eyes. Without saying anything, she put the car into drive, leaving the reunion behind. Despite allowing him into her car and leaving the reunion, each time Zed tried to talk, Addison turned the radio dial up to drown out what he would have said. If this was going to happen, she needed another glass of wine. Or five.

This continued for ten minutes until they pulled up to the drive way of Bucky's house. On the first floor, the lights were on, and Addison could hear music all the way outside. She cut the engine, and opened the door. Zed followed behind her like a lost puppy. They went in through the garage, and Addison cringed as she heard a girl's voice singing to a Prince album. There were candy wrappers and popcorn bags strewn around the kitchen. Addison reached for the unopened bottle of wine on the counter as Zed stood like a statue in this unfamiliar place. She handed him the bottle and two glasses and nodded towards the backdoor.

"Let me get a blanket… then we can talk." Zed nodded as Addison ventured deeper into the home. He made his way to the back porch, noting the glass fireplace. After a few minutes, Addison returned with a large blue blanket that swallowed her. She sat at the other end of the table, as far away from him as possible. He didn't say anything, simply poured the glasses of wine.

"So, what have you been up to?" Zed asked as he passed her the first of what would likely be many glasses of wine. Addison took a sip from the glass and shut her eyes in thought. It was obvious that she did not want to be sitting here having this conversation with him, but it was she who had driven him to the place she was staying. Somewhere deep inside, she wanted this. She wanted to see him; she wanted to talk to him.

But they were rudely interrupted as Addison opened her mouth to speak. Standing in the doorway was a young girl, probably around 17. She had dark brown hair framed by white baby hairs. She had stunning blue eyes that were incredibly wide, and a cute button nose identical to Addison's. Her complexion was pale, more so than Addison's, and she had some circles under her eyes likely from lack of sleep. She was tall, lanky one would say. Her face was long, longer than Addison's ever was, which only made her high cheek bones more prominent. Zed knew who this was before any words had left the girl's mouth.

"Mama, the WiFi's out again… the fuse blew, and Michael and I don't know how to fix it. We were gonna watch a movie on Netflix." She sounded annoyed, and Addison's deer in the headlights look was not doing anything to help the girl's mood.

"Uh, did you try the router?" the girl nodded at the question, her annoyance only got worse with the question. "Mitzi, give me a minute."

Zed stared between the two women, and he couldn't believe it. He drank what was in his wine glass in one gulp, and Addison stared at him incredulously. Instead of addressing the elephant in the room, she got up and followed her daughter into the house. She returned a few minutes later to a still stunned Zed.

"That's my daughter," Addison said lightly. Zed nodded.

"I gathered…" He looked into the empty glass, avoiding eye contact.

"I think we're going to need some more wine…" Addison said. Zed nodded again. This was going to be a long night.

**AN: I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please leave a review, I would love it!**


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